Racial Equity Toolkit

For too long, our sector has been operating within systems in which race is a predictor of water access, affordability, quality, reliability, and resilience in the face of our increasingly disruptive and volatile climate. Though our current generation of water utility leaders is not responsible for setting these inequitable standards, we have the power to begin putting an end to them.

Led by US Water Alliance staff and the consulting team at Water Savvy Solutions—and guided by the water sector and environmental justice experts in our Racial Equity Advisory Group—this Toolkit was developed to enable water utilities to work to improve their racial equity practices and outcomes both internally and externally.

We intend for the Racial Equity Toolkit to be a living guide, as it will need to evolve over time to best serve racial equity goals across the water sector. Please reach out to info@uswateralliance.org to provide any feedback on the content in the Racial Equity Toolkit and/or your experiences with implementation.

Additional Racial Equity Tools and Resources:

• Racial Equity Glossary of Terms and Additional Resources by Water Savvy Solutions
• City of Seattle’s Racial Equity Toolkit
• City of Portland’s Racial Equity Toolkit
• Government Alliance on Race and Equity’s (GARE) Racial Equity Toolkit: An Opportunity to Operationalize Equity
• King County’s Equity Tools and Resources
• Michigan Department of Civil Rights’ Racial Equity Toolkit
• National League of Cities’ Municipal Action Guide: Advancing Racial Equity in Your City
• Race Forward’s Racial Equity Impact Assessment
• Regional Arts and Culture Council’s Introduction to Racial Equity Assessment Tools
• University of South Florida’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate